Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, Sokoto State Governor on Friday presented a 2024 budget of over N270 billion to the State House of Assembly for consideration.
As the governor delivered the budget to the members of the house at the state house of assembly building, he said, “The proposed 2024 budget tagged, “Budget of hope and resilience” with infrastructural development in the sum of N270,134,091,757:01 Kobo only.
“Of the proposed revenues, statutory allocation coming from the federation account is estimated for N138,929,550,974:00 naira only. Internally generated payments are calculated in the sum of N37,085,037,053:63 Kobo only. This makes the total revenue stand at N176,014,588,027:63 Kobo.
“Our opening balance is 13,310,358,374,60k, capital receipts aids and grants is 14,396,222,781:12k. Capital development funds also stand at 60,379,186,380:00 making a total amount of 74,775,409,168:12 kobo
He said the recurrent expenditure accounted for N90,640,286,421:53 Kobo only, adding that the recurrent expenditure was broken down to personnel costs, N46,923,537,990:52 Kobo only, while overhead expenses stood at N50,938,232,612:65 Kobo.
“Capital estimates, N172,238,584,960:27 kobo with the total expenditure stands at N270,100,355,563:35 Kobo.
In order to complete the budget well and expeditiously so that it may be put into effect by January 2024, the governor asked the house for help.
He clarified that the budget for this year represents the opinions of the people all around the state and that it is based on his implementation of a nine-point program.
With an allocation of N42,868,402,566:5 kobo, Education receives the largest votes in the budget, as following budget breakdowns reveal. The Health sector comes next, with N31,014,441, 399:19 kobo.
The Ministry of Works and Transportation receives N18,807,208,595:17 Kobo, while the Agriculture sector receives 10,252,388,581:62 Kobo. This amount covers the purchase of fertilizer and farm input in addition to the delivery of various grains to the state’s citizens.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs received N9,907,759,878:33 Kobo from the government, while water resources received N9,243,892,234:54 Kobo.
He claimed that, among other things, his administration had adequately funded programs for women’s and youth empowerment, poverty alleviation, and humanitarian services.
He expressed his gratitude to the civil workers and development partners for their contributions to the budget preparation for 2024 and the subsequent execution of the policies and initiatives in the upcoming year.
Speaking in his remarks, the speaker of the state house of assembly, Tukur Bala, assured the governor that the assembly will get to work on the budget to encourage the governor to achieve his nine-point agenda.
